


The Dog

by delphinium (minyandu)



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, James|Lancelot's dog was a collie named Frey, Lee's dog was a lurcher named Eliza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:30:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4060081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyandu/pseuds/delphinium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every Kingsman agent trains a dog when they become candidates. What happened to Lee's dog after his sacrifice?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dog

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [狗](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3925345) by [delphinium (minyandu)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyandu/pseuds/delphinium). 



> My beta friend is too busy lately and corpus can only help so far. So feel free to leave a comment when you spot a typo or bad grammar.

New Year was a fortnight ago. Christmas lights were twinkling at the periphery of his vision. The boy stared at the medal with silent curiosity and confusion. Michelle, Lee’s wife, did not acknowledge his farewell.

 

He turned back to Savile Row. There would be enough time for him to drown in the hum of the pipeline before reaching headquarter.

To his surprise, Merlin did not bury himself in work. His best friend stood outside the candidate dorm clutching a folder, wearily looked at him. Pallor was clear to see on his face under fluorescent lights.

“Galahad. Lee’s belongings have been cleared, except…”he did not continue, just waved his hand towards the dorm.

“You should go to rest.”said Galahad. But he knew it would fall on deaf ears.

Merlin slowly wiped his face, nodded, but did not move. Frey, James’ collie sat in the dorm. It did not fare better than Merlin, eyelids drooping.

James, their new Lancelot, was sitting on his bed. His new suit creaseless, his eyes bloodshot.

“Eliza.” he held out his han, which had been freshly bandaged up.

What answered him was a burst of low rumble. The grey lurcher growled, though without baring teeth. It firmly entrenched on the bed next to James’s, looking sturbonly defensive.

“Sir.” James nodded to Harry. “I intend to adopt her. I meant to take her in as soon as possible.” He sighed bitterly and dropped his hand, stroking the gauze, “It did not go smoothly. Lee did train her well.”

Harry looked at his bloodshot eyes. “It takes time to exaust a lurcher.”

And Eliza was trained by Lee. It would take twice as much of time to exaust her.       

“Anesthetic can make it easy for me, but it will not help her at all. She has to understand.” James shook his head.

James never liked Lee. He never taunted or teased Lee like the other candidates. He simply overlooked Lee’s existence. Not until they had stumbled over each other, not until they tasted success with each other, not until all the other candidates had gotten eliminated one by one, that James acknowledged Lee with silent competitiveness and regards. For him, Lee had become an abnormal variable, the final obstacle he had to overcome.

But who could win a man that had died to save your life?

Harry walked to Lee’s bed and sat down. Eliza snorted, but showed no warning or peace gesture.

“Eliza.” said Harry. Eliza turned to him, amber eyes looking into his.

“Lee is not coming back.”

Surprisingly, saying it out was easier than he had expected.

“I’m truly sorry. “

Eliza was still staring at him. He slowly held out his hand. The lurcher tipped her head and looked at his hand, without tensing up or flinching. He put his hand on Eliza’s collar.

“Eliza.” He whispered, and gently pulled.                      

Eliza winced like being shocked, but immediately calmed down. Harry tried pulling harder slowly. The lurcher stayed immovable, amber eyes still staring at him. A moment later, he gave up the collar and put his hand on her scruff. The lurcher crouched, putting her head on her front paws and sighed.

James turned away. Frey stood up and trotted to his side from the doorway, putting his head on James’ lap. He buried his hands into the soft fur of the collie.

 

James successfully took Eliza in at last. He had a large enough garden for her and Frey to run freely. Both Harry and Merlin owned less spacious residences, which are not fit for raising gundogs. They had never expected family life since the day they became candidates, so they had naturally chosen easy-to-manage-alone residences, and had naturally chosen small dogs that can be comfortably fit into such small homes. Suppose James had not inherited his estate, he probably would have made the same choice.

But Lee had chosen Eliza for a promise of a house with garden and for a boy who should have played in it. 

 

Harry Hart sat at the dining table and poured himself a glass of brandy. There was an unopened parcel on the table. It had been there for nearly a month. He drained his glass, fetched a paper knife and cut the parcel open. Mr. Pickle’s fur felt stiffer than when he was with him in life. He settled the stuffed dog on the shelf, put on the brass name plate and tidied the fur a bit. The corner of his mouth curved up.

 

 

**Epilogue**

In the end, Eliza never met the boy she was supposed to grow up with. Frey passed away earlier than her.

For a Kingsman, outliving your dog is a bliss.


End file.
